I like the new shop fittings but not the giant mural. It’s too busy and takes the emphasis off the products they’re selling.
Would love to see how the new fittings will look like here in Australia.
Hoping for more oomph-pahpah music in store. 
A local Aldi near me went through a refresh recently so that
- bakery goods are on your right as you enter
- meat is all in new fridges on your right, veges on your left
- from around half way in, the aisles run kind of horizontally instead of vertically. Ie, across you between the fridges on the side and the middle aisle
The horizontal, short aisles got me the most haha
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In a desperate bid to stem a tide of financial instability, Big W is aggressively shifting its strategy toward low-cost house brands—a move insiders say is a direct attempt to mimic the “Anko” phenomenon that has turned rival Kmart into a retail juggernaut with Big W buyers at this weeks Hong Kong Fair meeting with Chinese manufacturers to source products.
Note: the Hong Kong Fair mentioned in the article referred to the annual HKTDC Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) and InnoEX, which took place on April 13-16 this year.
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I really don’t know what the answer is with BIGW. I was in my local this week and there was multiple big stacks of Easter eggs and dozens of shelves full, seemed like people didn’t flock to buy eggs this season, thankfully cocoa has dropped through the floor so next year might not be as bad, providing the manufacturers pull prices back.
They seem to be stuck in the middle, not burning cash at the moment but not making anything. So it’s a breakeven only business. Impossible to see how they can magically turn that around into a 200m~ EBIT business. I think it’s done but I don’t know what the exit options are. It’s probably not the exit options as such, but the ability to make money options.
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I hope they keep some brands in. We don’t need another department store going all in on its own home brand. We’ve got Kmart and Target, Reject Shop/Dollarama coming soon, we don’t need Big W going all wAnko on us.
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Well the price was certainly a hindrance this year. I had to buy something for a family member and I was left gobsmacked that the price for a Cadbury chocolate Easter Bunny that I buy them every year was now $15. 
But then they reduced them to $7.50 on Easter Saturday. And they still make a profit on them, I assume? 
They have done that for years
They over order the Easter choccies, then after Easter sell them on the cheap knowing the chocolates will go off. All of them do it.
They don’t all do that though.
I’ve noticed that the last couple of years Southgate Sylvania with Coles, Woolworths and KMart, had nothing left on Easter Monday. Also went to Rockdale Plaza that day and both Woolworths and Big W still had some stock which had been reduced. A few days later I was at East Village in Zetland and they had heaps and heaps of reduced choccie eggs, bunnies and bilbies.
These suburbs are very different and demographics may play a part. Sylvania has a very high Anglo population still and Rockdale is more multicultural. But Zetland has a lot of high rise apartments with Asian residents so they may not be buying much Easter stuff.
It all depends on funding provided from the supplier to clear stock. Kmart (even Coles to an extent) seems to have an internal thing where they want this seasonal stock out and gone within a week, now they will be wearing a bit of that loss, however would need to see the agreement with the supplier. WOW/BIGW are not so heavy handed and have been on 50% off only, looks like BIGW went to 75% today.
Chocolate prices will be interesting to watch later this year as cocoa pricing has dropped, but often peak buys from the major retailers are locked in around about now, so negotiations could be interesting at the moment. This Christmas chocolate should really be 10-30% cheaper.
Expect a whole bunch of those ‘price drops’ on chocolate perhaps, ie Cadbury to $6
The Westfield Chatswood store in NSW follows the landmark 1996 opening in Neutral Bay. Its Sydney flagship, which was relocated to The Galeries in 2002, is home to more than 300,000 titles.
Culture magazine Broadsheet reports that Kinokuniya is also planning to open a Melbourne store later this year.
When I went to my local last Saturday they were still putting out eggs, almost a week after Easter! Looked like brand new stock rather than stock being moved (was coming out of boxes)
I went to Woolworths to buy bread today, and noticed there were still dozens of Easter chocolate eggs on discount sale.
I remember two years ago when my local Woolworths opened they still had Easter eggs 2 months after Easter. The same store had some left over Easter eggs this year on Easter Monday but not that much I haven’t been there since but there probably won’t be any left. They probably use an algorithm of sorts to predict how much they order but I would imagine it would not be easily. You don’t want to run out before Easter Saturday but you don’t want to order too much to blow out the store’s reduced to sell budget. You can go by previous years sales, and similar stores in the area but even with the best algorithms and even AI it could still predict inaccurate amounts as we have shown.
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More data collection.
Just stick to the trumpets in the middle aisle.
The refreshed Food Hall includes eight eateries spanning multiple cuisines and formats, reflecting a broader shift in retail toward experience-led dining. The offering is designed to cater to city workers, shoppers and visitors, combining quick-service options with more premium dining formats.
The line-up includes concepts such as Pan Divino City, Wok Bar, Good Bagel, Swirl, Retro Roast, Pizzeria, Celebration Cake Bar and Cool Press Juice Bar, offering a mix of European, Asian and wellness-focused options.
Pan Divino City, led by head chef Adam Bryce, brings an Italian-focused menu into a casual city format, while other outlets focus on made-to-order meals, baked goods and beverage-led offerings.
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deleting as its not worth the hassle.
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